Apr 30, 2009 12:01 pm US/Eastern
Monroe School Chief's Wife Faces Criminal Charges
KEY WEST (CBS4) ―
The Monroe County State Attorney's Office has charged Monique Acevedo with grand theft and organizing a fraud scheme for her role in the alleged stealing of $180,000 from adult education cosmetology classes she ran. Monique Acevedo is the wife of the current Monroe County school superintendent Randy Acevedo.
Acevedo agreed to turn herself in to authorities on Thursday of Friday. She had been living in her home state of North Carolina after leaving a job with the school district on March 3, according to CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald.
If she is convicted of both felony charges, she could face up to 60 years in state prison. More charges could be filed when the full investigation is concluded, according to the Herald.
Currently, Superintendent Randy Acevedo has not been implicated in any wrongdoing.
Investigators said Monique Acevedo, a longtime employee of the county's school district, made the questionable purchases primarily using federal grant money for adult education programs administered by the school district as far back as August 2007. Other questionable purchases include the DVDs of
Knocked Up and
Good Luck Chuck, a Jesus bandage from Fast Buck Freddie's department store, a table saw, spear-gun accessories and two $19 payments for traffic school.
Investigators said Acevedo's spending habits came to light on March 2nd when Finance Director Kathy Reichel went to sign off on a state audit report and found the questionable purchases. Prior to this year, Reichel was not required to do so.
Randy Acevedo said he was unaware of his wife's spending habits. He said a year and a half ago, he found out his wife had purchased a pair of $300 sunglasses and four plane tickets for a family trip to North Carolina using her school credit card. He said they immediately paid back the district and told her not to make such purchases in the future.
In addition to the questionable purchases, Acevedo is also being investigated for allegedly mis-spending a 2006 $250 thousand federal grant that was to be used to help poor families, pocketing more than $28 thousand in cash fees from adult cosmetology classes, and taking money from three fundraisers by the Key West freshman class she sponsors.
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)
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